Re-Sealable Pocket

ABSTRACT

A re-sealable pocket having first and second opposing panels fixedly connected to each other along a pair of sides and a bottom edge. A plurality of holes is provided along a side of the pocket and a closure mechanism provided along a top of the pocket, so that the top edge of the pocket can be opened or closed.

TECHNICAL AREA

This invention relates to the area of plastic pockets for folders and in particular, to a plastic pocket which is re-sealable and adapted to prevent its contents from falling out.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

People have been using plastic pockets to store and protect documents or some other suitable content for many years. These pockets have been made in an array of sizes adapted to provide protection for materials of various sizes, and are further adapted to be carried or stored in typical ring binder folders of differing dimensions.

The problem with these plastic pockets is that not only do the contents tend to move around within the pocket, but often the contents will fall out of the pocket if the pocket and/or folder if they are not kept in an upright position. The standard plastic pocket also fails to provide a means for separating documents or contents within the same particular pocket, to eradicate the need for individual pockets to be used to store separate documents or different materials.

OUTLINE OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to overcome or substantially ameliorate the disadvantages of the prior art by providing a re-sealable pocket for folders, which provides a means for storing and protecting its contents whilst preventing them from falling out.

The invention provides a re-sealable pocket having a first and second opposing panel fixedly connected to each other along a pair of sides and a bottom edge, a plurality of holes provided along a side of the pocket and a closure mechanism provided along a top edge of the pocket whereby the top edge of the pocket can be opened or closed.

It is preferred that the closure mechanism be a press-lock mechanism having a male and a female track which are adapted to inter-engage with each other and provide a seal when the two tracks are “pressed” together.

It is preferred that the press-lock mechanism is adapted to be re-sealable.

It is preferred that the re-sealable press-lock pocket may have provided a gusset.

It is further preferred that the re-sealable press-lock pocket may have provided at least one divider located within the pocket.

It is preferred that the material around the or each hole be reinforced to give strength to the pocket.

It is preferred that the pocket be made of a durable transparent material such that the contents are visible to the user.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood we will describe by way of non-limiting example one specific embodiment thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a front view of the re-sealable pocket according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the closure mechanism of the re-sealable pocket according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the re-sealable pocket showing the gusset according to an embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

FIGS. 1 to 3 show preferred embodiments of the invention as it relates to a means for holding and protecting material stored therein.

In this embodiment, the re-sealable pocket 1 is made from a plastic material having sufficient durability to withstand stresses applied to the pocket 1 and in particular, to the seams of the pocket, when it is full. It is preferred that the plastic material will be transparent to enable the use to visualise the contents inside however, any other colour or suitable material may be used including a colour coded system which will be discussed later.

The re-sealable pocket 1 is provided with a first 2 and second 3 opposing panels that are fixedly connected to each other along a pair of sides 4, 5 and a bottom edge 6 which bridges the pair of side edges 4, 5 to comprise the body 7 of the pocket 1. Provided along the top edge 8 of the pocket 1 is a closure mechanism 9 adapted to provide a means for sealing the contents inside the pocket.

The closure mechanism 9 is a press-lock mechanism comprising a male track 10 and a female track 11. The male track 10 has a male profile and a first outwardly protruding portion 12, and the female track 11 has a female profile with a second outwardly protruding portion 13. Both the male 10 and female 11 tracks may be thermally fused to the inner surfaces of their respective first 2 and second 3 panels.

When a user “presses” or applies pressure evenly on either side of the press-lock mechanism 9 at the same point, the male 10 and female 11 tracks become inter-engaged with each other such that the press-lock mechanism 9 is in a closed position and the pocket 1 is sealed. In order to open the re-sealable pocket 1, the first 2 and second 3 panel are simply pried apart at the mouth 14 of the pocket, the force of which causes the male 10 and female 11 track to disengage from one another allowing the user to gain access to the interior of the pocket 1.

The pocket 1 may have an actuation means associated with the closure mechanism 9 which serves to effect the opening and closing movements. The actuation means can be in the form of a zip or any other suitable means.

Along one side of the pocket 1 are provided holes 15 which enable the user to place them in standard ring binder folders. The holes 15 are spaced apart by predetermined lengths such that they are able to fit in folders having different numbers of rings on them, such as a 2-ring, 3-ring, or 4-ring binder folder. Re-enforcement is provided surrounding the holes 15 to provide support to the pocket 1 so that the pocket will not tear easily through repeated use or access to the pockets 1 while they are in the folders.

The re-sealable pockets 1 may also be of varying dimensions depending on the folder they are adapted to fit into, or the application for which they will be used. It is preferred that the pockets 1 will be slightly larger than the full paper size so that the paper is not bent inside, yet suitable such that the pocket 1 will not protrude outwardly from the outer edges of the folder.

The re-sealable pocket 1 can be provided with a gusset 17 located along the bottom edge 6 of the pocket 1. It is envisaged that the gusset 17 would be integrally formed with the bottom edge 6 of the pocket and can be made of the same or some other suitable material. The gusset 17 comprises of a series of folds 18 which allow the pocket 1 to expand outwardly so that the pocket 1 is able to accommodate a larger volume more comfortably. The gusset 17 is adapted to comprise at least one inwardly directed fold 18 to create more than one area into which documents can sit within the pocket 1. Accordingly, the more inwardly directed folds 18 there are, the more separated areas there are provided in which the document can sit.

The pocket 1 can have a divider such that, the pocket is able to provide a permanent separation of contents which are to be kept separate within the pocket. The divider may be associated with the gusset 17 or an inner or outer portion of the pocket 1 and extend upwardly to cover the full length of the pocket. In this way, the contents will remain separate within the pocket in their own individual areas without being able to be mixed up with other contents of the pocket. Alternatively, the dividers may be of differing sizes to better suit the respective sizes of contents placed within the pocket. The dividers may be preferably made of the same material as the pockets however, they can also be made of any other suitable material and/or colour.

The re-sealable pocket 1 may be provided with a colour-coded system which enables the user to readily determine which press-lock pocket is suited to a particular folder. Such a system may involve having at least one strip of a colour, which is that same as that on a corresponding folder, being placed somewhere along the pocket 1. The number of coloured strips provided on the pocket would be dependent on the design and colours used on the corresponding folders.

The re-sealable pocket 1 has provided at least one slot or area 19 on the first panel, which is the integrally formed to the first panel 2 of the pocket 1, to enable a user to insert a form of labelling for the pocket or to place business cards or the like therein.

Whilst it is preferred that the press-lock pocket have the press-lock mechanism previously described herein, other closure mechanisms could comprise a zipper, Velcro (Registered Trade Mark), or any other suitable means for providing a re-sealable means of closure for the pocket.

While we have described herein an embodiment of the re-sealable pocket, it is envisaged that other embodiments of the invention will exhibit any number of and combination of the features previously described, and it is to be understood that variations and modifications in this can be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. 

1-11. (canceled)
 12. A re-sealable pocket, comprising: a first panel; a second panel connected to said first panel along a pair of sides and a bottom edge, said first panel and said second panel being opposed to one another; and, means for closing said re-sealable pocket provided along a top edge of said re-sealable pocket, so that said top edge is openable and closable.
 13. The re-sealable pocket according to claim 12, wherein said means for closing is a press-lock mechanism having a male track and a female track for inter-engaging one another for providing a seal when said male track and female track are pressed together, wherein said press-lock mechanism is re-sealable.
 14. The re-sealable pocket according to claim 12, further comprising a gusset located along said bottom edge.
 15. The re-sealable pocket according to claim 14, wherein said gusset includes at least one fold for providing separating portions for contents retained by said re-sealable pocket.
 16. The re-sealable pocket according to claim 14, wherein said gusset is constructed as a divider for permanently separately contents located in said re-sealable pocket.
 17. The re-sealable pocket according to claim 12, wherein said first panel includes a slot located thereon.
 18. The re-sealable pocket according to claim 12, wherein said re-sealable pocket is made of a transparent material, so that contents retained by said re-sealable pocket are visible to a user. 